Eight members of the Word of Life Church in upstate New York were indicted by a grand jury on Tuesday in connection to the death of a 19-year-old man and the beating of his younger brother last month.

Seven of the defendants were charged with second-degree murder for allegedly being involved with beating Lucas Leonard to death. Meanwhile, all eight were charged with manslaughter, kidnapping and assault in addition to kidnapping and assault charges in relation to the injuries to his 17-year-old brother, Christopher.

Among the eight people charged in the 13-count indictment is the church's pastor, Tiffanie Irwin, her mother, Traci Irwin, and her two brothers, Joseph and Daniel Irwin, who all held leadership positions in the church, according to the Associated Press. The victims' father, Bruce Leonard and their half-sister, Sarah Ferguson, were also charged along with two other church members.

According to CNN, all the defendants plead not guilty on Wednesday in the Oneida County Court.

Officials say the incident occurred in the sanctuary of secretive church in New Hartford on Oct. 11 after Lucas admitted that he wanted to leave the congregation. In turn, both brothers were beaten for 14 hours during a "counseling session."

Last month, Christopher delivered a chilling testimony of the events that occurred on the night that he and his brother were beaten.

"He was laying on the ground moaning. ... I knew something wasn't right. ... I rushed over and saw he wasn't breathing, so I tried to give him CPR," Christopher said.

In addition to being punched and kicked, the teens were whipped with a four-foot electrical cord after a Sunday night service. Lucas Leonard was then pronounced dead at a nearby hospital while Christopher was hospitalized with serious injuries.

Community members told reporters that some outsiders likened the mysterious church to a cult.